ke Chicago, the chief city
of the Lakes, we find that her imports and exports were,--

Imports. Exports.
In 1836, $ 325,203 $ 1,000
" 1851, 24,410,400 5,395,471
" 1859, estimated 60,000,000 24,280,890

In the year 1858, there were on the Lakes,--

American vessels, 1,194. Tonnage, 399,443
Canadian " 321. " 59,580

Value of American tonnage on the
Lakes, $16,000,000

Value of Lake commerce, import
and exports, $600,000,000

Number of seamen employed, 13,000

Taking the island of Mackinac as the geographical centre of this
navigation, we find the distances as follows:--

Miles.
From Mackinac to head of Lake Superior 550
" " " Chicago 350
" " " East end of Georgian
Bay 300
" " " Buffalo 700
" " " Gulf of St. Lawrence 1,600

Or ninety thousand miles of lakes and rivers, extending half across the
continent.

The following table shows the amount of tonnage belonging to different
cities in 1857:--

Tons. Tons.
New York, 1,377,424 Charleston, 56,430
Boston, 447,966 Detroit, 57,707
Bath, 189,932 New Bedford, 152,799
Baltimore, 191,618 New Orleans, 173,167
Providence, 15,152 Cleveland, 63,361
Philadelphia, 211,380 Chicago, 67,316
Buffalo, 100,226 Milwaukie, 22,339

This shows that Chicago had in 1857, being then twenty-five years old, a
larger tonnage than Charleston, the capital of the Palmetto Kingdom; and
Milwaukie, still younger than Chicago, owned a larger amount of tonnage
than the old and wealthy city of Providence.

In 1857, the export of grain from the Lake ports was sixty-five million
bushels; in 1860, it was estimated at one hundred millions.

The coal-trade of Cleveland, in 1858, was 129,000 tons. A large amount
was also shipped from Erie.

In 1858, the salt-trade of the Lakes amounted to more than six hundred
thousand barrels, most of which was shipped from the port of Oswego on
Lake Ontario.

The lumber received at Chicago in 1858 amounted to: Boards, 273,000,000
feet; shingles, 254,000,000; lath, 45,000,000: worth $2,442,500.

The